Philadelphia's summer block cleanup in final stretch
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Map of completed block cleanings. Courtesy of Philadelphia's Office of Clean & Green
Mayor Cherelle Parker's citywide summer cleanup is entering its final stretch.
Why it matters: The ambitious effort to improve quality-of-life issues on every block of the city is addressing Philly's most persistent complaints from residents.
The big picture: Philadelphia's 311 service requests are consistently topped by abandoned vehicles, illegal dumping and rubbish collection — all of which the citywide cleanup is tackling.
🧹 Driving the news: The program, which dedicates crews to each of the city's 13 sanitation districts for an entire week, is on schedule to clean 18,000 blocks through Aug. 30, a city spokesperson Keisha McCarty-Skelton tells Axios.
🧮 By the numbers: Since Parker launched the program on June 3, crews have cleaned over 12,000 blocks and nearly 4,500 vacant lots, McCarty-Skelton says. They've also:
- Removed more than 1,200 abandoned vehicles
- Repaired nearly 4,850 potholes
- Installed more than 10,100 LED lights
Reality check: Litter, short-dumping, graffiti, and other quality-of-life headaches are long-standing issues that previous administrations have tried but failed to fully reverse.
- It remains undecided whether the Parker administration will make the citywide cleanup an annual summer program, McCarty-Skelton says.
Yes, but: She added that the city will assign individual cleaning crews to each of the 10 Council Districts starting in the fall to build on the summer effort.
What they're saying: Some neighborhoods long plagued by quality-of-life issues will require sustained efforts, McCarty-Skelton noted.
- "In just two months of cleaning, we were not anticipating a complete change in negative behaviors," she said.
What's next: Crews are wrapping up cleaning efforts in parts of North Philly this week.
- Next week, they will move on to the neighborhoods in Northwest Philly, including East Falls, Chestnut Hill, Roxborough and Manayunk.